Kung Fu Panda 2
| writer = Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger | screenplay = | story = | based on = | narrator = | starring = Jack Black | music = Hans Zimmer John Powell | cinematography = | editing = Clare Knight | studio = DreamWorks Animation | distributor = Paramount Pictures | released = | runtime = 91 minutes | rating = | country = | language = | budget = $150 million | gross = $665,692,281 | preceded by = Kung Fu Panda | followed by = | wikipedia = }}Kung Fu Panda 2 is a 2011 3D American computer-animated action comedy-drama martial arts film, directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, produced by DreamWorks Animation, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to the 2008 film Kung Fu Panda, in which Po and his friends battle to stop a would-be conqueror (Lord Shen) with a powerful new weapon, with the giant panda discovering a disquieting link to his past in the process. The cast of the original film reprised their voice roles while the new villain, Lord Shen, is voiced by Gary Oldman. The film was released on May 26, 2011 in Real D 3D and Digital 3D. Kung Fu Panda 2 received positive reviews, with critics praising its animation, voice acting, and character development. It was also a commercial success surpassing the original film and, like the original film, was the highest grossing animated feature film of the year. The film was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards. A sequel, titled Kung Fu Panda 3, and directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, is scheduled to be released on December 23, 2015. Plot An opening narration tells that, years before the events of the first film, Lord Shen, the son of a peacock clan that rules Gongmen City in ancient China, seeks to harness fireworks as a weapon. After discovering from the court's goat soothsayer that "a warrior of black-and-white" will defeat him, Shen leads an army to exterminate the panda population to avert the prophecy. Shen's parents are horrified at this atrocity and exile their son, who swears revenge. Twenty years later, Po is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five. His teacher Shifu tells him, however, he has yet to achieve inner peace. While defending a village from wolf bandits who have been stealing refined metal for Shen, Po is distracted by a symbol on the head wolf's armor, which causes Po to have a flashback of his mother and allows the wolves to escape. Po asks his goose father, Mr. Ping, of his origins. Ping reveals that he found Po as an infant in a radish crate and adopted him, but Po remains unsatisfied, wondering how and why he wound up in the Valley of Peace to begin with. Shifu receives word that Shen has killed Thundering Rhino, the leader of the kung fu council protecting Gongmen City, and is plotting to destroy kung fu tradition and conquer China with his newly developed weapon, a cannon. Po and the Furious Five set out to Gongmen City to stop Shen and destroy his weapon. They find the city occupied by Shen's forces, with the two surviving council members Storming Ox and Croc imprisoned. The heroes ask the council members for help to liberate the city, but the two cite their helplessness against Shen's weapon and refuse. Po and the Five are discovered by the wolf leader and give chase, only to be captured in front of Shen's tower. Upon being brought before Shen in his tower, Po and the Five free themselves and destroy Shen's cannon. However, Po is again distracted by a flashback upon seeing the same symbol as before on Shen's plumage, allowing Shen to escape and destroy the tower with an arsenal of cannons. After Po and the Five escape, Tigress confronts Po over his distraction. Po reluctantly explains that he remembers Shen's presence on the night he was separated from his parents, and wants answers about his past from Shen. Though empathetic, Tigress tells Po to stay behind for his own safety. Po nonetheless breaks into Shen's cannon factory to question him, inadvertently foiling the Five's plan to destroy the factory. Shen claims that Po's parents abandoned him, and then blasts Po out of the factory into a river with a cannon. Po survives the blast and is rescued by Shen's soothsayer, who has been exiled by Shen to the ruins of the nearby village where Po was born. Guided by the soothsayer to embrace his past, Po remembers that when he was an infant, his parents had sacrificed themselves to save him from Shen's army, his mother hiding him in a radish crate and luring Shen's forces away from him. Po thus attains inner peace, realizing that he has lived a happy and fulfilling life despite this early tragedy. Po returns to Gongmen City to save the captive Five and prevent Shen's conquest of China. During the ensuing battle (in which Ox and Croc participate after being persuaded by Shifu, who also helps), Po modifies the movements used during his inner peace training to redirect Shen's cannon fire against his own armada, destroying it. Po then urges Shen to let go of his own past, but Shen attacks Po until he inadvertently slashes the ropes holding up his last cannon, which falls and crushes Shen. Victorious, Po returns to the Valley of Peace and reunites with Mr. Ping, lovingly declaring the goose to be his father. At the same time, Po's biological father is shown to be living in a far-off, hidden village inhabited by surviving pandas, and senses that his son is alive. Cast * Jack Black as Po the main protagonist. * Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress the deurtagonist. * Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu the triagonist. * Gary Oldman as Lord Shen an albino Peacock and the main antagonist. * Jackie Chan as Master Monkey one of the protagonists. * Seth Rogen as Master Mantis one of the protagonists. * Lucy Liu as Master Viper one of the protagonists * David Cross as Master Crane one of the protagonists * James Hong as Mr. Ping the supporting protagonist. * Michelle Yeoh as Soothsayer * Danny McBride as Wolf Boss leader of the wolf bandits and the secondary antagonist. * Dennis Haysbert as Master Storming Ox * Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc * Victor Garber as Master Thundering Rhino * Michael Bell as Gorilla Guard #1 * Fred Tatasciore as Po's Dad, Gorilla Guard #2 * Bowen Sheng as Gorilla Guard #3 Category:American comedy films Category:Paramount films Category:Films with instrumental credit music Category:Sequels Category:2011 animated films Category:Kung Fu Panda (franchise) Category:American drama films Category:Oscar nominated films Category:DreamWorks films Category:DreamWorks Animation films Category:DreamWorks Animation animated films Category:Paramount Pictures films Category:Paramount Pictures animated films Category:Films distributed by Paramount Pictures Category:Films Category:Films with opening only narration Category:Rated PG movies Category:Films without Humans Category:Jack Black films Category:IMAX films